Shoe having a protective wrap

ABSTRACT

A shoe includes a protective wrap disposed inside an upper and includes a sole portion disposed removably on a sole unit, and two side portions extending upwardly and respectively from two sides of the sole portion and connected to a fastening unit. When the fastening unit is tightened, the fastening unit pulls the side portions, and the side portions lift the sole portion so that the protective wrap is wrapped tightly around the foot of the wearer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe having aprotective wrap disposed inside a shoe to support and protect thewearer's foot.

2. Description of the Related Art

Various foot supports have been suggested in the art for incorporationwith shoes so as to protect particular parts of the wearer's foot, suchas the heel, instep, metatarsal arch, etc. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an exampleof a protective wrap which includes two wrap portions 12 connected to aninsole 16 which is in turn fixed to the bottom end of an upper. Straps14 which are attached to the wrap portions 12 extend out of the upperthrough holes 20 formed in the upper and are connected to a shoe lace 13which extends across a tongue 15. When the shoe lace 13 is tightenedabove the wearer's foot which is inserted into the upper, the straps 14are pulled so that the foot is wrapped by the wrap portions 12 and islimited from undesirable movement during the activity of the wearer.

FIG. 3 shows another example of the protective wrap which includes twowrap portions 22 connected to an insole 26 and a tongue 25. Straps 24are sewn to the tongue 25 and then respectively pass through the holes28 formed in the upper of the shoe for connection with a shoe lace 23.

In both of the above-mentioned shoes, the wrap portions 12, 22 wraparound the foot to restrict movement of the foot when the shoe lace 13,23 is tightened. However, as the insole 16 or 26 to which the wrapportions 12 or 22 are attached is connected fixedly to the bottom end ofthe upper by a lasting process, the insole 16 or 26 cannot be movedupward when the straps 14 or 24 are pulled. Therefore, when the shoelace 13 or 23 is tightened, the wrap portions 12 or 22 cannot providesufficient tightness for the foot of every user because of the varyingdepth of the metatarsal arches of the feet and the varying width of thefeet of different users. If the foot of the user has a deep metatarsalarch, a clearance 17 will exist between the metatarsal arch and theinsole 16, as shown in FIG. 1, thereby reducing the supporting effect atthe sole of the foot. In case the foot of the user is thin, there willbe a clearance 18 (see FIG. 2) between the wrap portions 12 and the footso that the protective wrap cannot protect and restrain effectively themovement of the ankle 19 (see FIG. 1). Unrestrained movement of theankle of the user's foot during strenuous activity can cause injury tothe ankle of the foot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a shoe with aprotective wrap which can restrain effectively undesirable movement ofthe user's foot and which can accommodate different sizes of the users'feet.

According to the present invention, a shoe comprises: an upper includinga bottom end; a sole unit fixed to the bottom end of the upper; aprotective wrap disposed inside the upper and including a sole portiondisposed on the sole unit, and a side portion extending upwardly from alateral side of the sole portion, the sole portion being at leastpartially and laterally removable from the sole unit; and a fasteningunit connected to the side portion, wherein, when the fastening unit istightened, the fastening unit pulls the side portion, and the sideportion lifts at least a lateral part of the sole portion so that theprotective wrap is wrapped tightly around the foot of the wearer.

The sole unit may be an outsole, or a sole assembly which includes anoutsole in combination with an insole and/or a midsole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional shoe;

FIG. 2 is another sectional view of the shoe of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of another conventional shoe;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded view of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 7 is the same view as FIG. 6 but with a protective wrap beingtightened;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a protective wrap used in a second preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a protective wrap used in a third preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the third preferred embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the fourth preferred embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a protective wrap used in the fourth preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the fifth preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the sixth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the seventh preferred embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a protective wrap used in the seventhpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it shouldbe noted that same reference numerals have been used to denote likeelements throughout the specification.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, a first preferred embodiment of the shoeaccording to the present invention is shown to include an outsole 41attached to a bottom end 421 of an upper 42. The upper 42 has a tongue45 disposed within a tongue opening 451 formed in an instep part of theupper 42. An insole 441 is fixed to the bottom end 421 of the upper 42above the outsole 41.

A protective wrap 46 is disposed inside the upper 42 and includes a soleportion 460 removably superimposed on the insole 441, and two sideportions 461 extending upward from the sole portion 460 and integralwith the sole portion 460. A sole pad 442 (the so-called sockliner orinsert) is disposed removably on the sole portion 460 so that the soleportion 460 is located between the sole pad 442 and the insole 441. Theprotective wrap 46 is flexible and may be made of a material such as afabric, leather, or any other suitable flexible sheeting material. Thesole portion 460 and the side portions 461 are made from the samematerial and are formed as one piece. Alternatively, the sole portion460 and the side portions 461 may be made from different materials asdesired.

Each side portion 461 connects with a plurality of first straps 462.While the first straps 462 are sewn to each side portion 461 in thisembodiment, the connection between the first straps 462 and the sideportion 461 is not limited thereto. Any other suitable means may be usedfor connecting the side portions 461 and the first straps 462. Eachfirst strap 462 extends out of the upper 42 from the corresponding sideportion 461 through the tongue opening 451 and is then folded back toextend over the outer surface of the upper 42. The folded part of thefirst strap 462 is then fixed directly to the outer surface of the upper42 by sewing to form a loop member 463. Each first strap 462 thus formthe loop member 463 at the outside of the upper 42 to connect with afastening unit that is operable to tie the tongue 45 and the tongueopening 451. The fastening unit in this embodiment includes a shoe lace47 attached to the upper 42 proximate to the tongue 45. The shoe lace 47passes through the loop member 463 of each first strap 462.

Referring to FIG. 7, when the user's foot (F) is inserted into the shoe,the foot is surrounded by the sole portion 460 and the side portions461. When the shoe lace 47 is tightened, the first straps 462 aresubjected to a pulling force and the side portions 461 of the protectivewrap 46 are pulled upward. As a result, the sole portion 460 is liftedso that it abuts with the bottom of the foot. In addition, the sideportions 461 are moved toward each other so that the foot is wrappedtightly by the protective wrap 46. Due to the sole portion 460 which isdisposed removably on the insole 441, the user's foot can be wrappedtightly by the protective wrap 46 regardless of the size of the foot.

FIG. 8 shows a second preferred embodiment of the shoe according to thepresent invention which is substantially similar to the firstembodiment. The second embodiment includes a protective wrap 56 whichhas a sole portion 561, two side portions 562 and first straps 563.However, the sole portion 561 is provided with ventilation openings 564,and the side portions 562 are connected to the sole portion 561 bysewing. In addition, the sole portion 561 includes only a middle portionwhich corresponds in position to the plantar arch of the wearer's foot.For each of the sole portion 561 and the side portions 562, a suitablematerial may be selected in order to comfort the wearer's foot.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a third preferred embodiment of the shoeaccording to the present invention is substantially similar to the firstembodiment. The third embodiment includes a protective wrap 66 which hasa sole portion 661, two side portions 662 and first straps 663. However,the sole portion 661 has ventilation holes 664, and includes a heel part6611, a front part 6612 and a middle part 6613 interconnecting the heeland front parts 6611, 6612. The side portions 662 extend from two sidesof the middle part 6613. The sole portion 661 of the protective wrap 66in this embodiment not only acts as the sole portion 460 of theprotective wrap 46 of the first embodiment, but also has the function ofthe sole pad 442 of the first embodiment. This means that the soleportion 661 acts like a shoe insert. Thus, the sole pad 442 of the firstembodiment is not provided in the third embodiment. In this embodiment,the side portions 662 are stitched to the sole portion 661. Of course,any means other than stitching means may also be used to fix the sideportions 662 to the sole portion 661.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, a fourth preferred embodiment of the shoeaccording to the present invention is substantially similar to the thirdembodiment. Like the protective wrap 66 in the third embodiment, theprotective wrap 76 in this embodiment includes a sole portion 761 withventilation holes 764, and two side portions 762. However, first straps763 in this embodiment are one-piece long straps each of which isattached to both of the side portions 762 and the sole portion 761 andprojects from the side portions 762. The sole pad 442 is disposed on thesole portion 761.

Referring to FIG. 13, the fifth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is substantially similar to the fourth preferred embodimentexcept that the protective wrap 76 in this embodiment additionallyincludes passages 765 each of which extends from one side portion 762 tothe other side portion 762 passing through the sole portion 761. Eachpassage 765 receives the corresponding first strap 763 so that the firststrap 763 is slidable within the passage 765.

Referring to FIG. 14, the sixth preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is substantially similar to the fourth preferred embodiment.However, the sixth preferred embodiment includes an upper 42A which hasno tongue and no tongue opening and whose bottom end is connecteddirectly to an outsole 41A. Furthermore, the first straps 763 in thisembodiment extend outward from only one of the side portions 762 throughan opening 422. The other side portion 762 is attached to an innersurface of the upper 42A. The fastening unit in this embodiment includesa fastening strip 49 which has a first end 491 attached to the outersurface of the upper 42A. The fastening strip 49 then passes through aring 48 connected to the corresponding first strap 763 and is bent backso that an opposite second end 492 of the fastening strip 49 is able toextend to the first end 491. The first and second ends 491 and 492 areinterengageable by means of hook-and-loop fasteners 493, which arewell-known under the tradename “VELCRO.”

When the fastening strip 49 is tightened, a pulling force is applied tothe first straps 763 and the corresponding side portion 762 so that theprotective wrap 76A can be wrapped tightly around the wearer's footinserted into the upper 42A.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, the seventh preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is substantially similar to the fourth preferredembodiment. However, the seventh preferred embodiment includes aprotective wrap 86 which has a sole portion 861 and two side portionseach of which is composed of a plurality of second straps 862. Thesecond straps 862 are attached to the sole portion 861 and extendoutward from two sides of the sole portion 861. The second straps 862extend further outward from the upper 42 forming loops 863 at theoutside of the upper 42. Each loop 863 is connected to the shoe lace 47through a ring member 48.

Especially in this embodiment, the sole portion 861 has a fixing member9 to fix the sole portion 861 to the insole 441 only at a central partof the sole portion 861. This fixing member 9 does not effect theperformance of the protective wrap 86 because lateral parts of the soleportion 861 at left and right sides of the fixing member 9 can still belifted up when the shoe lace 47 is tightened. No doubt, the wearer'sfoot still can be wrapped very well through the unfixed left and rightparts of the sole portion 861. While the fixing member 9 as shown is asewing line in this embodiment, any other suitable fixing member, suchas hook-and-loop fasteners (well known as Velcro fasteners) may be usedin place of the sewing line.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatis considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations andequivalent arrangements.

1. A shoe comprising: an upper including a bottom end; a sole unit fixedto said bottom end of said upper; a protective wrap disposed inside saidupper and including a sole portion disposed on said sole unit, and aside portion extending upwardly from a lateral side of said soleportion, said sole portion being at least partially and laterallyremovable from said sole unit; and a fastening unit connected to saidside portion, wherein, when said fastening unit is tightened, saidfastening unit pulls said side portion and said side portion lifts atleast a lateral part of said sole portion so that said protective wrapis wrapped tightly around the foot of a wearer.
 2. The shoe as claimedin claim 1, wherein said sole portion is removable entirely from saidsole unit.
 3. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper furtherincludes a tongue opening and a tongue disposed within said tongueopening, said fastening unit being operable to tie said tongue openingand said tongue.
 4. The shoe as claimed in claim 3, wherein saidprotective wrap further includes at least one first strap which connectsone of said side portions to said fastening unit.
 5. The shoe as claimedin claim 4, wherein said first strap extends out of said upper and formsa loop member at the outside of said upper.
 6. The shoe as claimed inclaim 5, wherein said fastening unit includes a shoe lace which extendsthrough said loop member.
 7. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a sole pad disposed removably on said sole portion.
 8. Theshoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said side portions include amaterial different from that of said sole portion.
 9. The shoe asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said sole portion has a plurality ofventilation holes.
 10. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said soleportion is comprised of at least a middle portion which corresponds inposition to a plantar arch of a wearer's foot.
 11. The shoe as claimedin claim 1, wherein said sole unit includes an outsole and an insole.12. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said protective wrap furtherincludes a fixing member which connects said protective wrap to saidsole unit and which still allows either side of said sole portion ofsaid protective wrap to be lifted up when said fastening unit istightened.
 13. The shoe as claimed in claim 3, wherein said protectivewrap further includes a plurality of first straps which interconnectsaid side portions to said fastening unit, said first straps extendingout of said upper.
 14. The shoe as claimed in claim 13, wherein each ofsaid first straps is a one-piece long strap which is attached to saidsole portion and both of said side portions and projects from both ofsaid side portions.
 15. The shoe as claimed in claim 14, wherein saidprotective wrap further includes a plurality of passages each extendingfrom one of said side portions to the other one of said side portionspassing through said sole portion, said long strap extending slidablythrough a corresponding one of said passages.
 16. The shoe as claimed inclaim 3, wherein each of said side portions includes a plurality ofsecond straps attached to said sole portion and projecting outward fromtwo sides of said sole portion, said second straps of at least one ofsaid side portions extending out of said upper and being connected tosaid fastening unit.
 17. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a first strap connected to one of said side portions, saidfirst strap extending out of said upper and forming a loop member at theoutside of the upper, said fastening unit being connected to said loopmember.
 18. The shoe as claimed in claim 5, wherein said fastening unitincludes a fastening strip which is provided with hook-and-loopfasteners, said fastening strip passing through said loop member. 19.The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sole portion is a shoeinsert.